Scorching-Sands Zone
The Scorching-Sands Zone was one of the game's original zones. In the updated lore, the Scorching-Sands Zone, but mainly Older York, was ruled by the United States Faction, as it was located in the United States region, and the United States Faction would later become the Government. It was originally inhabited by the Lizard People. In the time leading up to the Trans-Galactic War, Older York was increasingly renovated and expanded. After the Government formed and the Trans-Galactic War progressed, rapid modernization efforts increased in the Scorching-Sands Zone, beginning in Older York and displacing most of the Lizard People. Later on into the war, the Government utilized captured Imperial Cyberformers to cyberform Older York, and the entire Scorching-Sands Zone, into Newer York. Location: The Scorching-Sands Zone is located behind the Glowing Wasteland, and is the furthest from the original Starter Town. It is connected to the Z Axis highway and is one of the hardest and biggest early zones in the game. The Scorching Sands Zone can always be accessed through time portals, even after it was excavated and cyberformed. It has many named sub-areas of note and many unnamed areas of worth. Notable examples include: * The Height pillars: Around the outskirts there are large pillars that rise into the sky, and gladiator battles are held at the top. Parkour skills are recommended to compete in these battles, as one wrong move could mean falling to your death and not getting paid. Along the many pillars are Sword Stands with powerful elemental swords which respawn every ten minutes. You cannot leave with the swords. * Older York: Older York is a city with tall buildings located around Lake Super Chad, and hosts many of SSZ related quests and NPCs. It was later integrated into the ground levels of Newer York, even keeping its original stone and concrete foundation and older subway system. Older York, despite having modern buildings, originally had a rather ancient society, with basic foot soldiers wearing armor and brandishing swords and shields. When the lore was updated, the city and its population were made more modern, and thus had City Guards and citizens with guns, motorized vehicles, and computer terminals. Shortly before the Government was formed, the Blood Moon Event happened over Older York, and the dead from the event were buried under the original city, in the concrete foundations. After Older York joined Newer York, the area where Older York was located became plagued by a terrorist group known as the Older York City State Resistance, which effectively displaced all the residents of Older York, who moved to the other parts of Newer York, and made the Older York area into a zone filled with Terran Security and gangsters. In the far future, as seen in the quest where the player must get back from the future, the player can find out that the terrorist group was destroyed long ago, along with the burial site of the Blood Moon Event victims, and that Older York, despite becoming a residential area again, now stands as a monument to the opposition of progress. * The Sunbaked Lands: '''Located at the center of the zone are the Sunbaked Lands. Entering this area without protective gear will slowly chip away at your health as the high temperature melts your character. All drones will melt in 60 real life seconds. It is filled with many bunkers, ruined houses, and ships from the Cybercity with shade to provide checkpoints to those without gear. Its recommended only to enter this area on quests. Traveling at night will not damage you, but most high level enemies spawn at night in this area. There are many abandoned underground caverns in this area. After Newer York was formed, the Sunbaked Lands became part of the cyberformed planes, and later more of the city's expansions built over it, as weather control systems made it no longer scorching hot. However, a monument remains to it, located in a park of sand built over the center of the old Sunbaked Lands. The plaque on the monument reads: "Here once stood the Sunbaked Lands, an opposer to progress which we overcame as we brought our world out of its primitive state. This monument stands in remembrance to all the adventurers who died in its scorching sands." * '''Trading city: '''Located near Older York is the Trading City. The items here are extremely expensive, but worth it. It consists of many apartments sticking out of the sand with markets and slums built into them. It is also the only place where you can purchase the personal O-Zone, which allow you to travel through the Sunbaked Lands without losing health. The Trading City was absorbed into the newly cyberformed Newer York, but a small monument to it does exist in the area of the ground level where it once stood, along with a small replica of an apartment coming out of the sand. * '''The Desert Destroyer: The Desert Destroyer, as the name on the side reads, is a large battlestation, once an old experimental US Faction naval warship that was modified for ground travel. For reasons unknown, it was abandoned, and left behind in the middle of the Scorching Sands Zone. It is run by retired US Faction navy sailors, but is also filled with water based enemies, which the sailors claim they failed to eradicate. Home of the Slowest gun in the west bossfight, it moves in a circle pattern around the outskirts of the Sunbaked Lands, and houses the access console to the Desert Citadel. When Newer York was created, Terran Security Units took command of the Desert Destroyer, cut her engines, eradicated the remaining enemies, and had the ship moved to a large museum, where massive relics of the old world were kept. The sailors who had already died were given a proper burial as Military units, and the few sailors who survived lived out the rest of their days being the caretakers of their old ship. * The Desert Citadel: '''The final dungeon of the Scorching-Sands Zone. What happened to it after Newer York was created was never addressed, but it was presumably destroyed in the cyberforming. '''Enemies: * Desertmaws: Common and tough enemies who pick off players who wander too far off the desert road. 60 - 70 health each with 20 damage (slicing type) attack. As the Government moved to cyberform Older York into Newer York, the Desertmaws were hunted to near extinction by Terran Security Units setting up the cyberformers. However, those that survived were rounded up and placed in zoos, where they can be seen in the modern Newer York. * Cactus Fiends: Walking cacti which shoot small pricks at the player. Its melee attack stuns the player for three seconds, but with a slow walk speed, so it is easy to avoid getting close to them. Cactus Fiends were also hunted to near extinction by Terran Security Units, but some of them were put in a nature reserve habitat in the outskirts of modern Newer York. * Lizard People: (Faction) Same stats as human enemies but each one has the Heat Tolerance Stat (level 100) and the fugal eater perk (level 50). Lizard people start as hostile, but can join your faction if you give them resources. Although a great unit for the original endgame battle, they are expensive to maintain. In the current lore, the Lizard People were the original inhabitants of the Scorching Sands Zone. They opposed the expansion of the United States Faction into their land and the construction of Older York, but were outgunned, and could not stop it. They lived around the Scorching Sands Zone, mostly staying away from Older York, the Desert Destroyer, and the Trading Town. After the Government was formed and Newer York was created, the Lizard People were quickly displaced by the cyberforming, with many forced to move into the newly created megacities. However, they can still be found in the remaining desert regions of the world, and within the megacity of Newer York. Category:Zones